San Juan, Nov 29 (EFE).- Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner in Washington, Luis Fortuño, confirmed on Tuesday that Venezuelan officials refused to let him and several U.S. lawmakers into the country, where they had hoped to meet with President Hugo Chavez.
A high-level delegation composed of Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, four other congressmen, Fortuño and more than a dozen aides was in Caracas to meet with Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, and hopefully Chavez, to discuss a variety of matters, including the war on drugs, oil and the human rights situation in the Latin American country.
The last issue, along with the fact that the group was going to meet with members of the Venezuelan opposition, could have led to officials’ decision not to let them into the country, Fortuño said.
“Venezuelan officials did not allow us to get off the plane. We don’t know why they didn’t. That government is heading toward totalitarianism,” Fortuño told San Juan station WKAQ.
“The group decided it was obvious they didn’t want us in the country, and we left for Aruba, where we met with the prime minister, and will travel on to Brazil and the Dominican Republic,” Luis Fortuño said.
According to Fortuño, Venezuelan officials told him the president refused to meet with the legislators because they had scheduled talks with opposition groups.
